The Usual Situation
by repmetsyrrah
Summary: Sequel to 'An Unusual Situation' and 'Making The Most Of An Unusual Situation'. Tom and Sybil find everything set to rights, but reflect that they might miss some things about their experience in the other's shoes.


For yankeecountess who requested a sequel to _An Unusual Situation_ and _Making The Most Of An Unusual Situation_ where Tom and Sybil get their bodies back.

Less cracky than the last two but will make more sense if you read those. Well… as much sense as this AU is capable of making.

Thanks to babageneush for the beta.

**The Usual Situation**

* * *

"Is there some grand joke we're missing?"

Sybil looked up at her sister's question, suddenly aware of the large smile on her face. She pressed her lips together, trying to contain it.

"How do you mean?"

"You and Tom haven't stopped smiling since we came down," Mary informed her, looking between the pair.

Tom met his wife's eyes, his smile widening a bit before he turned to Matthew, shrugging at his questioning look.

"In fact everyone's been quite odd this past week," Edith commented, joining the conversation. "What _happened_ while we were in Scotland?"

Sybil shook her head, attempting to look baffled by the question. Though confusion wasn't too hard to fake, the entire situation having been as utterly bizarre as anything she had ever experienced.

They still had no clue what had really happened. The nearest explanation they had come to was 'magic' and they hadn't found anything better that morning when the Bransons had hurried downstairs to make sure everyone else had been put to rights too.

But really, how were you to explain it when you woke up one morning in another body?

Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson had known each other the longest and having worked together for longer than Sybil had been alive they had been the most successful at fooling the Crawleys. Poor Daisy and Ivy had had a time of it, footmen being in full view more than any other servants- but luckily they hadn't been required to talk beyond the minimum.

And they at least had the servants' hall to retreat to. Sybil and Tom had been the ones with the hardest job.

They knew each other intimately, but of course, their intimate sides were not what the family saw and neither had much experience seeing the other dealing with things alone. Sybil had done better than Tom, though that was to be expected.

In fact she had rather enjoyed playing billiards with Matthew after dinner. And she was familiar enough with her husband's opinions to hold a proper conversation. Matthew was a good man too, and in fact, Sybil had enjoyed the chance to see his friendship with Tom from a first-hand perspective.

Tom had taken the simpler option of faking tiredness or muttering something about not feeling well almost every night. She couldn't blame him, though he knew her thoughts inside and out, he didn't know how she acted with the ladies in the drawing room. He hadn't been trained in the art of conversation since he began talking.

"_Did_ something happen while we were away, Carson?" Her father's voice pulled her back to the present and Sybil fought a smile as the butler tried to look natural.

"Not that I'm aware of, milord." Carson's voice was steady though he avoided actually looking at anyone as he spoke.

Robert turned his attention back to his youngest daughter who simply shrugged before he shook his head and gave up.

* * *

"Thank the Lord things are back to normal," Tom sighed, as soon as they were in their room. "I'll not miss the after-dinner conversations with your mother and sisters."

Sybil smiled. "The ones you attended at any rate."

Tom just shrugged, not ashamed at all of having run away from as many as he'd been able.

"I might miss playing billiards with Matthew," Sybil mused, "Did he say anything tonight?"

"Just that I seemed more like myself than I had the past week."

"Same as Mary then."

They shared another smile.

"You could very well join us you know. I'm sure Matthew wouldn't mind."

"He would never say so, no," Sybil agreed. "But you must be able tell how much he enjoys the time alone with just you and him."

"Men are a rare commodity in this house, we've got to stick together."

Sybil laughed. "As nice as some things were, I am glad to be back in the majority."

"Well, I'm glad someone had fun. I know I won't miss it."

Sybil turned as she watched him undress, smiling softly as she remembered doing that herself just the night before. She hadn't minded it, being able to look down and see those arms so close, moving under her power. She had wondered if it could have been considered narcissism in a way, to be so attracted to one's own body.

Even if she had just been borrowing it really.

"You won't miss _anything_?"

He turned at the note in her voice and sighed dramatically.

"Well…"

He glanced down and ran his hands over his flat chest.

Sybil laughed, crossing the bedroom to step into his waiting arms. "Don't worry," she assured him with a wicked grin. "You can still 'borrow' them sometimes… If you're good."

"And you?" Tom pulled her closer, running his hands down her body to her backside, giving it a playful squeeze.

Sybil giggled, her own hands sneaking under his shirt and running up his chest, something she had been very pleased to find was just as nice for him as it was for her.

"And what about you? What will you miss?"

Sybil bit her lip, looking down. "I rather liked being the one to carry_ you_ to bed," she admitted, a faint blush colouring her cheeks.

"That wasn't so bad," Tom agreed. "Among other things."

He dipped his head catching her mouth with his and they stood for a long moment, simply enjoying being together.

"It is nice too," Tom added once they parted. "To know that some things feel just as good for you as they do for me."

Sybil smiled as she kissed him again, remembering just how much fun they had taken in showing each other exactly how pleasurable certain experiences could be.

"You know," she said as they parted, her voice low, "we wouldn't want to forget some of those would we?"

"No," Tom agreed. "Certainly not. Best to keep the memories fresh."

He grinned and Sybil yelped as he scooped her up without warning and carried her to bed.


End file.
